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She BUSINESS of 

CONTRACTING 



McCULLOUGH 




? 



THE BUSINESS 



OF 



CONTRACTING 

Reprinted from ("THE CONTRACTOR") 

BY 

ERNEST McCULLOUGH 

MEM. WEST. SOC. ENG. 



Consulting Civil Engineer, Chicago; formerly Consulting Engineer, Merchants 

Association, San Francisco; lately Engineer Municipal Engineering 

and Contracting Company, Chicago, etc. 

Author of "The Vrooman Act," "Municipal Public Works," "Engineering Work 
in Towns and Small Cities," "Reinforced Concrete," etc., etc. 



TECHNICAL BOOK AGENCY 



CHICAGO, ILL. 
1906 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two Copies Received 

APR 16 1907 

j Copyright Entry . 

CkASS/1/\ XXc f No. 
COPY B. ' 



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COPYRIGHTED 1906 

BY 

ERtfESf MCCULLOUGH. 



Rogers & Hall Co. Press, Chicago. 



PREFACE 




BOOK is believed to be incomplete 
without a preface* It serves as 
an introduction and helps the 
printer in "making up." Further- 
more it has always been cus- 
tomary, ♦♦ 

This last reason is the one that 
accounts for this preface* A survival of cus- 
toms we cannot escape like the "whereas" 
and other medieval expressions and phrases 
in contracts 

This book contains articles reprinted from 
"The Contractor/' Chicago* and its object is 
to help the business of contracting* « 

THE AUTHOR. 
Chicago. Jan., \ 906* 





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THE 
BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING 



CHAPTER I. 



THE STAFF. 

The secret in successful contracting lies in personal supervision. 
I do not mean personal supervision by trained employes, but in per- 
sonal supervision by experienced thinking employers. 

The business of contracting contains so many elements of 
chance that success is obtained in proportion as the contractor's 
ability to personally oversee the work is assumed. It has been a 
common thing in past years for some obscure foremen to take sub- 
contracts and graclually increase operations until immense works 
would be undertaken. The little god of luck would tenderly care 
for them until the number of hired men increased beyond their 
ability to personally oversee their work and then came the inevitable 
crash. 

The chances are not so good today. More capital is needed now 
and a great many men have lost too much money backing "prac- 
tical (?)" men. The practical man requires more education and a 
broader experience than he did some years ago. 

The present-day ways of doing everything on a large scale re- 
quires that some one of means do the work. Stock companies have 
taken the place of the old-time contractor largely and the individual 
personality is less a factor. The men at the head are shrewd busi- 
ness men and the work is intrusted to specially educated and trained 
managers and superintendents. 

The lack of system so often noticed on small jobs under the 
superintendence of practically trained men of slight or indifferent 
school training is replaced by a system which accounts for every 
bolt and screw and foot of rope and has the output of every gang 
so figured that it is almost possible to figure profit and loss at the 
close of each day's work. 

The element of profit is more sure, but the margin is less 
than under the old way. Today is the day of big enterprises and in 



6 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

these enterprises the day of small things. Not what is earned, but 
what is saved. In the saving it is necessary to be prepared to spend 
freely and few men care to intrust their money to the handling of 
men whose ability is unproven. Yet men of ability of the modern 
type are not very plentiful and are always sought for. 

The writer knows of many contracts where men of small 
means bought machinery on time by some friend guaranteeing their 
honesty and account. Then assigning their contract to a local bank 
and giving a mortgage on the unpaid-for machinery for the money 
to make first payments and rustling around every week to find 
friends to indorse their notes to obtain money to meet the pay roll. 

The largest element of chance in contracting lies in the fact that 
nearly all work goes to the lowest bidder. A knowledge of costs 
avails little in bidding, for a man to get a job must bid below 
others. His knowledge of costs simply enables him to know that 
work may be done at a reasonable profit at the prices bid. It does 
not mean that he can do it. It simply puts him where he knows 
what. can be done. A knowledge of costs combined with a knowl- 
edge of methods will enable- him to come out even, or perhaps make 
money. 

The proper staff of a contracting business is organized about 
as follows : 

President, 

Board of Directors, 

) The Contractor. 
Manager, 

Chief Engineer, * 

Superintendents, Foremen. 
Timekeepers, Storekeepers, Bookkeepers, etc. 
As noted above, the contractor as an individual sometimes rep- 
resents the others: 

The President and Board of Directors we need refer to only 
incidentally. 

THE MANAGER. 

The Manager sometimes is also the Chief Engineer. If he 
is not then the engineer employed by the company or by the 
contractor is really a part of the clerical staff. He gives lines and 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 7 

grades, makes estimates, etc. In referring here to the manager we 
refer also to the Contractor if it is not an incorporated company. 
The word manager therefore means also contractor, 

A successful manager must be a man of good executive ability. 
A man of good executive ability is simply a man of good common 
sense, who knows how to select and order subordinates and who 
never "butts in." 

In this last characteristic lies the great secret of success in 
handling any complicated business. The man in charge must possess 
an intimate knowledge of the details so he can select competent men 
to attend to them and must have such confidence in himself that 
he will always stand behind his chosen lieutenants. A contractor 
who "stays with his foreman" is generally successful in securing 
foremen who will stay with him. 

The president is not always competent to act as manager unless 
he has had the necessary training. The training can not be wholly 
obtained by reading books and papers nor by attending lettings, 
nor by simply talking over such things with other contractors or 
with the employes of contractors. Neither can it be obtained solely 
by observing work in progress, valuable as such observation is. It 
can only be obtained by doing all these things and also doing the 
actual work. 

The president and Board of Directors do their whole duty 
when they select their manager and then leave him pretty well alone 
in his work. They measure his value by results and in proportion 
as he secures results so is their duty to the stockholders measured. 

Unless the manager understands the work in all its details he 
can not be successful. Yet he must not interfere. Rather he must 
occupy a position like the ship captain to whom is intrusted the 
ship and the cargo, but who has the work divided up so that full 
responsibility is placed where it belongs. The manager should 
never give orders directly to any of the men, but should convey all 
orders through proper channels so the men will not be given an 
opportunity to growl about having too many bosses. 

In times of emergency he must be by the side of his assistants 
with counsel and advice but careful to avoid interference. He 
should be always in evidence on the job but in no unpleasant or 



8 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

dictatorial way. The machinery of administration must run 
smoothly and he is running the machinery. 

Any good, sensible business man with a large experience in con- 
struction work will make a good manager. It will be considerably 
to his advantage if he has been educated as an engineer before get- 
ting into active contracting work. The technical education is not 
essential, but it is of such great value that the man so equipped is 
wonderfully favored. This is proven by the wonderful success met 
with by many engineers who have gone into contracting work. 
Many successful contractors are also having their sons educated as 
engineers. 

The writer thinks the following plan would be good for the 
training of young men to be ^contractors : A full course in civil or 
mining engineering. Add to this a year or two of work in the office 
of a large corporation where the interests are so vast that great 
system is needed and followed. Some experience as a traveling 
salesman, a book peddler or in some line of work where he can get 
an opportunity to learn how many kinds of people it takes to make 
up an ordinary community. Then go to work at day wages in a 
contractor's gang and rise through the grades of foreman, time- 
keeper, commissary, superintendent, etc. Get all the general ex- 
perience possible and study men as well as materials. 

A manager should have a good knowledge of law in general 
and be thoroughly conversant with the statutes governing the work 
in hand and know almost by heart the ordinances of the city in 
which he is working that will affect the work in hand. 

If the people in the district where his work is being done have 
any old vested rights it is his business to make himself more fa- 
miliar with the situation than is the oldest inhabitant If he is not 
able to outtalk them on occasions they will murder him with talk. 

Not that he should attempt to act the part of a lawyer, but 
simply that he may guide the interests of his company safely through 
the reefs and shoals of legal intricacies and local prejudices. One 
of his first acts in getting work in a new place should be to retain 
a first class lawyer to help in difficult situations, but he can be of 
great assistance to his attorney if he is the right kind of a man. 

Every manager should have in his office for constant reference 
a copy of Waite's 'The Law of Operations" and Waite's "Engineer- 
ing and Architectural Jurisprudence." 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 9 

With all his ability and intimate knowledge of his work the 
manager should mix freely with his men but keep aloof from ex- 
hibiting too much companionship. His attitude in times of trouble 
should be that of a severely just individual. Little petty squabbles 
among his men should not distract his attention. The majority of 
common laborers are like overgrown babies and it is generally safest 
to refer them always to their foreman or to the superintendent 
when they come with complaints. If much attention is paid to tales 
of distress and abuse the manager will lose half his influence with 
his workmen and be regarded with ill concealed contempt by his 
foremen. 

Nothing should be done by him which will in the slightest de- 
gree affect the influence of men in authority on the work. Minor 
cases of injustice may occur, but it is a free country. Aggrieved 
men have always the privilege of quitting. 

If pronounced cases, threatening strikes or widespread feeling 
of dissatisfaction occur, or there is trouble in the commissary de- 
partment, it is a case then for investigation by the man in supreme 
control. His investigation should be thorough and take but little 
time. His judgment should be strongly expressed and be as severe 
as the case warrants. Half hearted measures will not do when deal- 
ing with men whose ideas of right and wrong are crude but very 
pronounced. 
THE SUPERINTENDENT. 

The superintendent is a manager in embryo. Therefore his 
training and experience should be such that he might succeed the 
manager if the latter is disabled or that he may be placed on some 
work in the capacity of manager. 

The writer does not favor shop men as superintendents on gen- 
eral work. It has been his experience, and that also of other men, 
that a man from a shop or an engine room will pay entirely too 
much attention to the machines used on a job to the almost entire 
exclusion of the many hundreds of vexing questions arising and 
which need a clear and evenly balanced mind to attend to. 

Shop men do not always fully realize that the machine is not the 
whole thing. The superintendent is there to get all the work done 
within contract time and at the least possible expense, consistent 
with good workmanship. Each machine eliminates a certain number 
of hand workers and is only a tool. If properly handled it saves 



10 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

money. If improperly handled it is a loss to the contractor. As a 
rule men with no particular trade, but handy at almost anything and 
possessed of good common sense, handle nearly all machinery used 
by contractors, with fewer men and at less expense for breakages 
than the men sent from the shops with the machines. A few good 
machinists on a job in strictly subordinate positions are worth more 
than a machinist superintendent. 

The difference lies in the difference in meaning between the 
word "trade" and the word "business." A superintendent who has 
learned a trade is not to be compared with the superintendent who 
has learned the business of that trade. 

The superintendent is all the better if he has been a foreman 
first on contract work and the more he knows of the work in hand 
the better off he will be. His knowledge of the details of the busi- 
ness, however, should be displayed for the benefit of his employer 
rather than to impress the men under him. If he knows his busi- 
ness the men will find it out better by his manner of directing them 
tLan by his doing their work for them or fussing. 

The tale is told of a lady of high birth entering a cabin on 
her estate and lecturing the slatternly housewife on the general 
untidiness of the domicile. After the lecture she turned to and 
cleaned the windows. Turning with a severe look to call attention 
to the result and resume the lecture, she was impudently told 
that- since she evidently enjoyecj interfering with other people's 
affairs she might as well finish her day by sweeping the floor and 
washing the dishes. Much the same feeling of contempt is felt 
toward a fussy boss by his men, and occasionally vent is given in 
explosive words to long pent feelings. 

All foremen will not make good superintendents. Sometimes 
very good superintendents are found among engineers with long 
experience on work in minor positions, but whose trained minds 
have led them to study and improve upon methods noted. 

Among books the writer would recommend for young men 
anxious to succeed in the contracting business are three by Gil- 
lette : "Earthwork and Its Cost," "Rock Excavation,"- and a "Hand 
Book of Cost Data." "Inspection of the Materials and Workman- 
ship Employed in Construction," by Byrne. "Earth and Rock Exca- 
vation," by Prelini, Johnson's "Engineering Contracts and Specifica- 
tions," the two works by Waite already mentioned and Richey's 
new book, "A Pocket Book for Building Superintendents." 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 11 

CHAPTER II. 



THE FOREMAN. 

What kind of a man makes the best foreman? This question 
is best answered by another: "What do you ask of a foreman?" 

Take a typical example of a job given unquestioningly to a 
foreman and we have the answer to both. 

Given an alley fifteen feet wide, nicely paved with brick, run- 
ning through a block 400 feet long. The cross streets are paved 
with asphalt and the location is in a very fine residence district 
(always the hardest to work in, because such a large proportion of 
foolish, unreasonable and exacting people are found in "kid glove" 
residence districts). Each side of the alley has a stone or brick 
wall or is lined with costly brick and stone stables. Nearly all the 
yards are paved. The conditions are ideal for settlement and much 
damage if a trench is opened in the alley. The block is at present 
drained by a 6-inch sewer about seven feet in the ground, and this 
sewer is to be replaced by a 10-inch sewer fifteen feet deep. 

The property owners, as is usual in such a district, have 
kicked about inadequate sewerage and finally the city officials have 
decided to put in a new one. Then a large number have protested 
on every possible ground far protest and have been overruled, so 
are in a bad temper. Lawyers have been retained and the con- 
tractor has received written notices promising injunctions and 
damage suits if settlement is observed and if cracks open in walls 
or buildings. Some owner with a "pull" has secured a severe ruling 
about the placing of pipe and piling of dirt on the paved streets 
at the ends of the block. No one will allow dirt to go beyond the 
line into the yards. 

The problem is to do the work in the confined space under all 
the imposed conditions and do it so there will be no complaint 
while the work is in progress and no danger of ensuing lawsuits. 
The dirt must be taken care of in some way ; timber must be brought 
in and be placed, and pipe must be brought in and laid in the 
muck caused by the still running 6-inch sewer, which is used 
while the work is in progress. All the work must be done from the 
ends and a few severe rain storms while the work is in progress do 
not add to the enjoyment of the job. 



12 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

During the progress of the job another sewer contract may be 
let that promises to tax the ability of the union to furnish men. 
The effect is immediately noticeable on ■ the men employed, and 
they must be jogged up to do a day's work, yet they must not get 
any impression that the company "is down on the union." A few 
years ago a contractor could put a gang of men to work who would 
divide the work in such a way that each man went to his place and 
the job went like clockwork. Today it is difficult .to gti such men 
in sufficient numbers, and the ignorant laborers too often secured 
need watching like babies. 

Some women who should know better, and whose social stand- 
ing would seemingly indicate that they do know better, peer over 
the fences occasionally and make remarks — remarks that a diplomat 
would have difficulty answering in a way that will not be construed 
as insulting and which will not make the husbands cause trouble 
for the company;. 

The company may have a large bank account or it may have to 
borrow money every pay day and be charged high interest. The 
work may be paid for upon completion in cash or it may be paid 
in tax bills, payable in a number of annual installments with low 
interest. A slight variation may be made from usual methods of 
working if the contractor receives a percentage of the estimated 
value of work done at stated periods and arranges his payroll so 
that pay day comes in between estimate days. 

Every day in nearly every city such problems arise and noth- 
ing is thought of them by the experienced contractor. When the 
time comes to go into the alley a trusted foreman is sent there 
with his gang. That is all. What kind of man makes the best 
foreman? What do you ask of a foreman? Have the questions 
been answered? He is a worker, fighter, diplomat. 

In many places men have put in hard earned dollars to back 
a good foreman going into business for himself, only to discover 
that he is a very poor superintendent and wofully incompetent as a 
manager. Such men declare the contracting business to be nothing 
but a gamble. 

A good foreman — if he is not good he should not be employed — 
is a man who thoroughly understands the work in hand and who 
understands human nature. He must be able to get a day's work 
from his men and still keep from quarreling with them. If he is 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 13 

generally called by his first name by his men and is found to go 
with the crowd to the nearest saloon at quitting time it is doubt- 
ful if he ever gets the best results from the men under him. 

Sympathy is a good thing, but the possession of a soft heart 
is bad. The frequent hearing of "hard luck" stories from his 
men is a bad thing for "the boss" and his interests. The labor 
unions recognize this when they say a man is outside the union 
when he is a boss. 

A first-class foreman is generally "Mr." to his men. They 
know they can go to him with a recital of real troubles connected 
with the work and that he will make an honest attempt at relief. 
They know that family troubles are not to be mentioned to him. 
They know he has no patience with a man who is continually 
voicing his hard luck and troubles, for it all delays work, and he is 
employed to expedite work. They realize that he knows fully 
what a good day's work should be and that each man in the gang 
must give it or be fired. The feeling of the men may be one of 
respect, but it is certainly not love. Expressions of regret when 
he leaves are sincere only in proportion as their forecast of the 
character of the new foreman is favorable or unfavorable. 

It is the foreman who makes the money on a job, and it is 
the foreman who loses it. Therefore the manager should be a 
judge of men, a thorough man in his knowledge of the business, 
and he should always insist upon documentary evidence when hiring 
a foreman. 

The frittering away of small sums counts terribly. Good fore- 
men are nearly as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth, and it is 
unfortunate that the majority come from walks of life that forbid 
any intimacy or great show of friendliness on the part of their em- 
ployer. Few of them are strong-headed enough to stand it. It is 
a fact that a foreman is seldom worth his salt after the second job 
and must be gotten rid of and go to work for some one else. 
If he is worth keeping for a third job he is likely to have in him 
qualities which will lead to his being safely intrusted with more 
important work or which will enable him to secure backing to go 
contracting for himself. 

Many contractors lose money because they are under the 
domination of old employes — although they will not admit a fact 
which is patent to all their friends and sometimes to the most 



14 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

casual observers. The writer is not hard-hearted, but he never 
sends for a man when a new job is secured. If a man who has 
proven himself asks for a job he will give it to him. It is poor 
policy to send for a man and give him the idea that he is indis- 
pensable. It is well to be appreciative, but to too many men an 
appreciative pat on the back goes to the head like champagne. 
There should be a systematic method of keeping track of work 
done, so a daily comparison can be made of work done by differ- 
ment men. ' 

It is good for a man to know his efforts are fully noted. He 
feels sure then he is getting a square deal and devotes his time to 
doing his work well and does not waste time trying to "get a 
stand-in with the old man." 

The best material from which to select foremen of the class 
that will never rise higher may be found in men who have no great 
stability of purpose, so far as settling down in life goes, men 
with aspirations, but without true ambition. They wander from 
one kind of work to another, never staying at any particular kind 
long enough to learn a trade, but who possess a certain brightness 
of mind that favorably impresses all the men they work for. If 
the truth is asked for it may be said they are lazy. 

They are too lazy to learn anything that will enable them to 
get very high, and still they are not able to get away from a class 
of work calling for manual labor. With a general knowledge of 
how to turn their hands to almost any kind of work, with a bright 
manner that leads men to mark them for promotion and with a 
certain amount of selfishness, they gain an influence over the un- 
skilled laborer they some day — by a lucky turn of the wheel of tor- 
tune — have an opportunity to boss. A careful, methodical man, who 
has thoroughly learned a trade, seldom makes a first-class foreman 
on ordinary contracting work. He can not abstain from meddling 
in work cheaper men can do. Sometimes while he is showing men 
how to do things when a good foreman would have fired them, fel- 
lows at the other end> of the line are loafing. 

In short, a foreman does not have to be a man who can do 
a certain piece of work right himself, but he must know when it is 
well done and must be able to show men how it is to be done. 

Having carefully selected a foreman by examining closely into 
his record after sizing him up, the contractor must give him abso- 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 15 

lute control over his men. Never interefere and hamper him in any 
way. Keep close tab on all he does and insist upon him getting 
full value out of his men. Look to him for results and if they are 
unsatisfactory let him go in a hurry. When money is being lost on 
a job it is lost quickly. The writer respects his foremen by never 
sending to any gang a man fired from another. "Fired from a 
gang, fired from the job" is the rule except in particular cases. It 
has happened that a foreman and some man in his gang have dis- 
agreed so that the man is fired. The foreman, however, has been 
manly enough to intimate that tke trouble is personal and the man 
might work well somewhere else. When such a thing happens the 
man may be sent to another gang. Where such a rule is not ob- 
served chaos would reign and no gang would be contented, the fore- 
men least of all. 

A foreman, like any workman on the job, should be spoken 
to only twice if he is not giving satisfaction. The second reproof 
to come in the form of an ' invitation to "come to the office." It 
should also be the last time he will ever be seen in the office of that 
employer. Sometimes a foreman over a certain gang seems to be 
lessening his output, but at the same time seems to be as earnest as 
ever. Before letting him go it is well to 'shift him to a gang of 
strange men. If the men are staying contentedly with a job it is 
bad policy to leave a foreman over the same men too long. As the 
men get better acquainted among themselves it often happens their 
efficiency is increased by reason of good-natured, friendly rivalry. If 
the men get too well acquainted with the foreman, or the foreman 
with them there is a lowering of efficiency. A shifting of foreman 
occasionally is good, like the changing of the beats of policemen. 

If a young man upon graduating from an engineering school 
fails to find employment readily and is possessed of a good football 
build he could hardly make a better move for the good of his future 
than to go into a contractor's camp and take any job he can get. If 
he is strong and willing to work, possessed of ingenuity and com- 
mon sense and shows himself able to influence men he will be soon 
marked for advancement, for capable men are always in demand. 
There would be more successful contractors if there were more good 
foreman of a kind that might be retained for years with no fear of 
becoming spoiled like children by too long intimate association 
with appreciative employers. Many contractors today would be 



16 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

taking more work if first-class foremen of proven ability were 
available. As it is they limit their operations to jobs they can look 
after personally. 

The work will be hard for our young engineer and often nasty, 
but the pay of a day laborer is equal to that of young instrument- 
men and draughtsmen and many times better. Good foremen receive 
pay equal to that received by many assistant engineers and often the 
pay is better. Superintendents and managers receive good pay in- 
deed as compared with engineers in charge of construction and they 
are the men who do things. There is an element of adventure in 
general contracting work that is fascinating. Danger is often always 
present and a good foreman or superintendent is not supposed to 
send a man to a point he would not go to himself. In fact, he often 
carries a line to a place or dislodges a dangerous timber himself 
without danger of the men feeling toward him the insolence they half 
conceal in the presence of a "working foreman." 



CHAPTER III. 



BIDDING ON WORK. 

It is a strange thing to say, but it is true, that less money is 
. lost from low bids than from improper management of work. The 
general idea is ,that low bidding is the reason for most of the 
frightful losses seemingly inseparable from the contract system of 
doing work. Still, the writer does not mean that the matter of 
bidding should be neglected or .relegated to any ignorant person. 
What he means is that in the majority of cases current prices 
to a large extent govern the figures put in by all bidders, and if a 
man bids close to the ruling average price for work in a certain 
section good management must do the rest. 

The bidding is often entrusted to men who are totally unfit 
for the work, and many contractors make wild guesses. The 
writer knows contractors who are unable to give a man on short 
notice any idea of the cost of work, and who put in bids altogether 
from a study of ruling prices. That is, they bid with a knowledge 
of prices and not of costs. They justify themselves by saying that 
engineers never estimate carefully on work, but simply guess. It 
is a slur on the profession as a whole, but true in too many indi- 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 17 

• 
vidual cases. Contractors, however, are not entirely free from the 
same charge, and it is less excusable in their case, for their bread 
and butter depends upon their doings. 

Too much importance is attached to prices, and the tendency 
in the mind of uninformed and inexperienced men is to charge all 
contractors with guessing when the list of bids is published. 
"How," says the property owner, "can one contractor bid $10,000 
for that piece of work and another bid $22,000, and both be good 
men, especially when no others in the list are in decent reach of 
those figures, but are bunched near the middle?" Thereupon the 
authorities are compelled to let the work to the lowest bidder. The 
property owner figures that the lowest bidder must be a careful, 
systematic man who will give a good job and make a small profit. 
The rest are considered to be "grafters." 

It is wisest to employ as figurers on work men whose experi- 
ence really fits them to be managers or superintendents. They 
should be men of address, who can impress those with whom they 
come in contact as being fully alive to the responsibilities of the 
work put on them by their employers. 

They should have a good knowledge of the laws of the State 
in which they propose to operate and be fairly familiar with the 
ordinances of the city. If the time is too short to permit them to 
look into these matters they are not doing their full duty if they 
neglect to employ an attorney to look carefully over the proceed- 
ings and all papers before tying themselves up with a bond. Ex- 
perienced contractors will bear the writer out in saying that more 
contractors have been ruined because of legal difficulties than by 
reason of physical ones. 

Never, under any circumstances, should the reading of the 
specifications be omitted. Some little clauses which appear very 
innocent and unimportant to a clerk sent to figure on a job might 
loom up with portentous significance to the man afterward in 
charge of the work. 

It may be impossible to have anything changed, and then the 
engineer in charge and his superiors must be thoroughly studied. 
Although an engineer himself and jealous of the good name of the 
profession, the writer is fully prepared to admit that a choicer 
assortment of fools is seldom to be met with than the half-baked 
engineers contractors seem to run across in streaks occasionally. 



18 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

The sound headed, sensible men are in the majority, it is true, but 
there are too many engineers whose proper sphere in life is the 
selling of light dry goods or of the keeping of books in a cross- 
roads store. How they ever drift into a profession where common 
sense is the chief desideratum is a mystery to the contractors they 
"break." 

As a rule, the less they know the harder they are to get along 
with, and the more power they arrogate to themselves. Once in 
a while a thoroughly educated engineer will be met who is fully 
as unpractical, but even the few met with justify a contractor in 
studying his man. Beware of an engineer who is of a bossy dis- 
position and seems inclined to interfere. His specifications are 
generally filled with clauses copied from other specifications be- 
cause they look strong. Such a man generally enforces every 
clause rigidly without using judgment. Under him the contractor 
simply pays the workmen. The engineer runs the job and dic- 
tates to the contractor whom he shall hire and whom he shall dis- 
charge. 

The man who bids on work should know these things from 
actual experience. He should, therefore, get acquainted with his 
man and try to judge how far he is responsible for the specifica- 
tions and how rigid he will be in holding to every word regardless 
of the spirit. 

The men on the council or board of public works must be 
studied with reference to the execution of it. The writer has 
sometimes turned down a good contract after attending one meeting 
of the board and noticing the subservience of the engineer and 
the arrogance of one or two members from whom his authority 
was derived. 

Sometimes the specifications are very particular in describing the 
manner in which a part of the work is to be done and yet there is a 
guarantee clause binding the contractor in case results are not what 
was expected. 

For example: The writer bid for a firm on the construction 
of some steel barges. The length, breadth and depth were all given. 
In fact, the drawings and specifications were in every way complete 
and most admirable. The barges could have been constructed from 
the drawings. It looked like a good contract until one little joker 
was found. It read that the barges, when put in the water of the 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 19 

lake and river on which they were to be used, should not draw more 
than a certain amount of water. The contract was turned down. 
The firm that took it had a hard time collecting. The contractor 
was held responsible for all errors of judgment on the part of the 
designer. 

Another contract required that all trenches had to be filled with 
water and the dirt thrown back. At the same time there was a clause 
that the streets had to be returned to their original condition and 
maintained for a certain period. Now, as all practical men know, 
it is only with soil containing a great deal of sand or gravel that 
such procedure is good. If there is much clay it makes a bad ditch. 
If there is any clay it will make trouble. The way the writer has 
found is best in such cases is to put in a foot or so of water and 
throw in a couple of feet of earth which must be tamped until the 
water is evenly distributed and the filling is hard. Then put in 
more water, more earth, etc. By doing this all the earth may easily 
be put back in any trench, leaving no surplus. In the contract under 
discussion, however, such a procedure was not permitted. The 
specifications were printed stock specifications good on other work, 
but not altered intelligently for the work in hand. They were en- 
forced by ignorant local men. 

The contractor pleaded, but it did no good. He showed how 
inconsistent the two clauses were, but he was compelled at first to 
follow the specifications. Finally he threw them entirely overboard 
and followed his own way, with the result that the following year 
the only streets on which he did any work were those on which 
the specifications were followed where they prescribed methods not 
adapted to the material. 

In court, one or the other of the inconsistent clauses would have 
been thrown out. Contractors, however, do not want to be spending 
all their earnings in court. There is too much good work to be 
had. On the work mentioned, the job done satisfied all the people, 
and yet the contractor had trouble with some of the councilmen in 
getting the work accepted because the specifications had not been 
in all respects followed. 

The trouble with these men was that they felt unnecessarily 
inflated by reason of their election to the important offices they held. 
The contractor raising an objection to anything in the specifications 
was proof positive that the city would get the worst end of it. Their 



20 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

attitude towards the contractor was one of antagonism. It is the 
attitude the majority of people assume to be the correct one. It 
can be seen cropping out in the language used in nine-tenths of the 
specifications, and many engineers and officials, especially in the 
smaller towns, ride rough-shod over contractors. The worst of it is 
that they are perfectly honest, and if the contractor wanted to 
square them he could not. 

So it is well for the contractor to be careful that he sends out 
to bid on work men with a large experience in contracting and who 
know many of the little kinks that may cause trouble. 

To refer to another instance. A certain contract called for the 
construction of a concrete tank. The mixture was specified carefully, 
but it did not say whether the cement was to be measured in the 
barrel, the bag, or loose, or by weight. The whole manner of 
preparing, depositing and tamping the concrete was minutely described 
and at the end the contractor was required to guarantee the tank 
against leakage. The mixture named — 1-3-5 — is not and can not 
be made waterproof. It cost a great many dollars to waterproof that 
tank after an unavailing attempt had been made to secure some 
changes in the specifications. Here was an instance where the engi- 
neer had his fill of pleasure in drawing up readable specifications 
and the contractor had to foot the bill. 

The writer had a letter a few weeks ago from a firm in a near-by 
State asking whether it was the fault of the specifications or of their 
work that a certain retaining wall built by them was leaking and 
looked bad on the face. It was holding back a hillside full of 
springs and the engineer claimed they had slighted their work. The 
writer read the specifications carefully and informed them that no 
matter how carefully they had performed their work it was impossi- 
ble to get a water-tight wall with those specifications. He also 
pointed out a clause they had evidently overlooked, where it said 
they had to make the wall absolutely tight and guarantee it for six 
months after it had been completed. 

They had followed the specifications strictly and had done a job 
to be proud of. Yet that one little clause was worth more than any 
detailed description of methods. Any judge would hold that since 
so much stress was laid on water-tight work and an unsightly wall 
was a damage to property, that the contractor would have been 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 21 

justified in practically ignoring the detailed specifications and could 
have collected for the job if he had built a wall strong enough and 
at the same time water-tight. The company is now opening the 
ground back of the wall and giving it a water-proofing treatment. 
The proceeding is nearly as costly as the original job. 

Another clause that gives a great deal of trouble in small places 
is the local labor preference clause. 

The question of the amount of bonds to be given as a guarantee 
is an important one. The amounts are generally exorbitant and 
the conditions severe. 

The bidder should investigate carefully the labor market and it 
will not pay to underestimate the danger of unions being organized 
after the contract is awarded. 

The bidder should find out all about available sites for office, 
yard and buildings and the cost of hauling. He should, however, 
carefully abstain from making any arrangements that will in any 
way hamper the coming manager in his prosecution of the work. The 
information collected should be placed at his disposal in the main 
office. 

The estimator should have a scrap-book, alphabetically indexed, 
giving costs of work, so he can refer readily to them, and also have 
full information about the ruling bidding^prices in the locality. 

Gillette's Hand Book of Cost Data will be of great assistance, 
as will also his books on earth and rock excavation. There the 
matter of costs can be settled. The prices can be obtained from 
other sources. 

While printed books are a great help the best data for a man 
to use in estimating is his own. He can use tables and diagrams ' 
prepared by others, but those most useful are the ones he prepares 
himself. Only the man thoroughly conversant with the conditions 
under which tables and diagrams are prepared is able to get the 
full benefit from their use. 



CHAPTER IV. 



HINTS ON BIDDING. 

The man who goes out to bid on work should always know the 
ruling and the average local bidding prices. He should also be able 



22 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

to check up quickly the different items in order to be sure of bidding 
safely in case he has to put in a bid calculated to get the job; other 
considerations being largely neglected. 

There are two sewer pipe price lists in general use. The East- 
ern list being used in nearly all points east of Chicago and the 
Western list being generally used west of Chicago, but seldom 
farther west than Kansas. In the real western states there are 
several local lists and on the Pacific coast we generally find two. 
It therefore behooves a man when getting quotations on sewer pipe 
to ask which list is used. Instead of being satisfied with a certain 
discount from list he should have the list given him on a card with 
the discount marked. This it is understood applies more partic- 
ularly to points near the border lines. Sometimes a large discount 
may be quoted on one list and a smaller one on another. The cost 
of the pipe may be exactly the same. The bidder should be very 
careful also to see whether the specifications call for standard pipe 
and if standard whether it has ordinary or deep sockets. If the 
specifications call for double strength pipe he should be certain of 
that fact. Double strength pipe generally has the extra wide and 
deep sockets. Little points of this kind overlooked make a differ- 
ence in the cement bill. 

The same remarks may apply to water pipe so far as strength 
and thickness go. Observe carefully whether the specifications spec- 
ify the weight and general dimensions of the pipe. Occasionally 
even today we run across engineers who favor some special design 
of socket. 

Hauling is an item. Look carefully over the ground and get 
the shortest, longest and average haul for material. Consider the 
roads and streets over which hauling must be done. The superin- 
tendent of the work will try as much as possible to let his work on 
the best streets wait until the hauling is practically all done. 

Before getting figures from local men on hauling make some 
for yourself. The map will give the distances. Count that the teams 
should travel at the rate of about three miles per hour with a loaded 
wagon and about four miles with the empty wagon going back for 
a load. The extreme load of an ordinary wagon is about 4,000 
pounds, or two tons. 

A wagon load of sand is usually one yard, varying with height 
of sideboards. Loose sand weighs when dry nearly 2,600 pounds 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 23 

per cubic yard and if solid weighs neatly 3,000 pounds. When wet 
it is much heavier. 

A wagon load of cement is ten barrels, practically two tons. A 
wagon load of broken stone is usually one yard and the weight is 
about the same as sand. A wagon load of brick is usually about 
1,000. A wagon load of earth should be 1% yards with ordinary 
sideboards. The foregoing figures are all for ordinary wagons. 
Special wagons are generally used in large cities for different ma- 
terials. 

For the cost of hauling water pipe it is well to make tables 
showing how many lengths will make an ordinary wagon load. For 
example : About fifteen pieces of four-inch light pipe make a good 
wagon load and only twelve pieces of heavy pipe. Get from the 
manufacturer's list the weights per length of each kind and size of 
pipe and divide 4,000 pounds by the weight. This will give the 
maximum number if they pack snugly. The bells, however, prevent 
this, so an allowance must be made. The manufacturer's tables 
give the weights of specials also, and these should be divided into 
4,000 pounds to get the number of each a wagon can carry provided 
they can be packed into the bed. 

The bidder should have a loose leaf book alphabetically ar- 
ranged and put all odd scraps of information in it. He should care- 
fully figure out tables and copy them into the book. In fact, it 
should be his first business to begin making a scrap book of bidding 
data. 

Few men can tell off-hand how many pieces of sewer pipe make 
an ordinary wagon load. The writer presents the following table, 
as the result of his own observation in checking thousands of wagon 
loads in sewer work performed in small and medium sized towns 
and cities. Lengths may be either two, two and one-half or three 
feet. Weight of standard pipe per load about 2,000 pounds and of 
double strength about 2,200 pounds. Five-inch pipe, 80 pieces; 6- 
inch, 63; 8-inch, 44; 9-inch, 36; 10-inch, 29; 12-inch, 23; 14-inch, 19; 
15-inch, 16; 16-inch, 14; 18-inch, 12; 20-inch, 9; 21-inch, 8; 22-inch, 
8; 24-inch, 7; 27-inch, 5; 30-inch, 4; 33-inch, 3; 36-inch, 3 pieces. 

In a brick manhole the steps are usually about fifteen inches 
apart. Below a depth of twelve feet they will usually go through a 
13-inch wall. Down to that depth through a 9-inch wall. For a 
depth of four feet only figure one step. Five feet, two steps, etc. 



24 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

The American Sewer Pipe Company of Pittsburg has for free 
distribution a book of net discounts that is easy to carry in the 
pocket. It contains a number of useful tables for calculating the 
number of bricks to be used in certain sized manholes and catch 
basins, etc. The table of net discounts contains the Eastern price 
list and the net prices at each rate of discount. The manufacturers 
of the Potter Trench Machine in Indianapolis publish a book con- 
taining various tables of quantities for brick, mortar, etc. Many 
other firms publish data books. In using the information contained 
in such publications, however, it is well to remember that few 
tables are as good as those figured by the man who intends using 
them. It is best to figure your own. If you do use others it is a 
good idea to check them over to some extent to be sure they can 
be relied upon. William Arthur, Omaha, Neb., publishes a book on 
Building Estimating that is very good. John M. Hazen of Minne- 
apolis, Minn., publishes a Railroad Contractors' Hand-Book that is 
very good for that class of work. They contain many tables of 
considerable value. The only trouble with a great many compilers 
is that they make a miscellaneous collection of tables and data with- 
out verification, and a man who uses them blindly loses money and 
loses his faith in all published information. 

A man bidding on trench work should have tables of quantities 
for trenches of different widths and depths. Payment is generally 
made for trenches one foot wider than the inside diameter of the 
pipe. To calculate a table for each width it is well to do it for one 
foot in depth and then add for the other depths. This means then 
that the width of the trench in decimals of a foot should be divided 
by 27 (the number of feet in one cubic yard) and this will give 
the number of yards (decimal) in one lineal foot of trench one foot 
deep and of the required width. For two feet simply double this. 
For three feet multiply by three, etc., or keep adding. After the 
table is started it goes quickly. It is better to calculate the tables 
once than to have to do it on each job. 

To estimate quickly the cost of excavating trenches tables of 
cost should also be prepared beginning with a unit cost at say six 
feet. The bidder should be able to tell at a glance about what it 
will cost per yard for the first throwing in an ordinary ditch. With 
this as a basis the cost with increased depth can be easily ascer- 
tained. 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 25 

The tables should show actual costs so the bidder can add his 
profit or see at a glance whether there will be a reasonable profit 
if a bid is put in at ruling local prices. 

It is an excellent plan for a contractor to put down costs on 
every job in detail. For example, he buys a certain number of feet 
of pipe and a certain number of specials. When the job is com- 
pleted he receives pay for a certain number of feet; some have been 
rejected and some have been left over for the next job. This 
should apply as well to lumber, iron pipe, brick, etc. His hauling 
for each material cost a certain sum. His sand cost a certain 
amount. Ditto for cement. He paid a certain amount for a fore- 
man. His labor cost a large amount. These accounts by use of a 
small ledger can easily be kept separate. When the work is done 
the total number of feet for which he is paid can be divided into 
each account and the cost per foot for each item readily ascer- 
tained. A contractor who does not do this on every job is neg- 
lecting his chances to make money. Whenever a job is completed 
a table should be made up showing the cost, together with remarks 
at the bottom giving particulars of extraordinary conditions. Every 
bidder in the employ of the contractor should have a copy of the 
table given him. 

A bidder going to a letting with a loose leaf book filled with 
such information is a formidable man to go against. 

The following table from Gillette's Hand-Book of Cost Data is 
an- example. It gives the cost data on the construction of a concrete 
culvert. The contractor used a Y% cubic yard cubical mixer and 
averaged 40 cubic yards of concrete per 10-hour day, at the follow- 
ing cost for labor: Cost per Cost per 

day. cubic yard. 

1 foreman $ 3.00 $0.08 

3 men loading barrows and feeding mixer 4.50 0.11 

1 man attending to engine of mixer 2.50 0.06 

2 men loading barrows with concrete 3.00 0.08 

3 men wheeling concrete barrows, 100 ft. haul 6.00 0.15 

4 men ramming concrete 6.00 0.15 

4 men wheeling in and bedding large stones in 

concrete 6.00 0.15 

Total $31.00 $0.78 



26 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

Assuming one-third ton of coal per day at $3.00 per ton, we 
have 2 cents more per cubic yard for fuel. 

The foregoing table is on page 337 of the book mentioned. The 
writer has chosen this example purposely, for it gives such a high 
cost. At the bottom of the page more particulars are given so a 
man using the table can judge of results. 

It will be seen that the mixer is of 7/% cubic yard capacity, yet 
only 40 cubic yards per day were put in the structure. A machine 
of that size should turn out a batch of at least two-thirds of a cubic 
yard and there should be one batch turned out every two minutes, 
so that would mean twenty yards per hour or 200 yards per day. 
If we took a crew not very familiar with the machine or if the 
inspector were disposed to be extremely particular, increase the 
time to three minutes per batch. That would give over thirteen 
yards per hour or about 133 yards per day. The yardage per man 
in this job is small, and from the remark made about bedding large 
stones there must have been many waits for the stone to be bedded. 
In the foot note by 'Mr. Gillette it is stated the cost of bedding 
large stones in the concrete was greatly outbalanced by the saving 
in cement. The writer thinks there must be a mistake about the 
saving in cement. If the machine that was capable of turning out 
from 133 to 200 cubic yards per day was only worked to a limit 
of 40 cubic yards then the difference in cost per yard is greater 
than the contractor assumed. There must have been some delays 
owing to the bedding of the rubble stone and the delays counted for 
more than was assumed. 

If every contractor is able to keep track of every job in some 
such way and give the information to men who go out to bid for 
him he will soon get his business down to a satisfactory basis. 
With books like those heretofore mentioned close at hand for ref- 
erence to give data collected by other men he should make few 
mistakes in bidding. If his data shows him a very small, or no, 
margin of profit if the work is taken at local ruling prices, then he 
should keep away. 

When a contractor begins to figure costs to units he finds that 
the item "Miscellaneous" is a most important one. He will find 
that labor and material do not constitute all the items of cost. 
If he has a hazardous piece of work the item of insurance must be 
counted. That ranges from 2 to 12 per cent of the payroll, A 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 27 

guess as to profits can not cover such an item. Sometimes there 
must be figured a big sum for discount on paper or for interest on 
borrowed money. The writer had a piece of work at one time on 
which he did not employ married men, or, so far as he could dis- 
cover, men having any one dependent on them. Before they went 
to work they swore before a notary that they were unmarried and 
that they had no one dependent upon them for support, that they 
fully realized the work to be hazardous and in return for a cer- 
tain consideration to them in hand paid and for the payment of 
certain wages above the regular pay on the job they agreed to 
hold the company harmless if they received any injury during the 
progress of the work. The company agreed on its part to furnish 
at all times bracing and other safeguards needed at the request of 
the men engaged individually and as a crew. He was sorry that no 
accident happened, even a little one, as he wanted to have the 
contract tested. Several lawyers disagreed about it. Some held 
it would hold in any court, while others said it was worthless. 
Whether it was good or not it had a fine effect on the men, "for 
they needed no instructions to keep banks braced and they left 
nothing undone to secure their own safety. When in especially 
bad ground they rushed the work in a way that was not slow. 
Under the usual way of doing things and with a knowledge that 
the company had accident insurance they would not have been so 
careful. The extra cost to the company was less than any form of 
insurance would have been, for we made a careful investigation 
first 

On another job there was a somewhat similar contract, but 
married men were permitted to sign it, provided their wives signed 
with them and signed an additional clause providing for suit in 
case of death. The consideration in that case was a paid-up acci- 
dent policy which the company secured and made all payments on 
so long as the man was working for them. As this accident policy 
covered all accidents during the time it was in force, not alone 
those on the work, the men were well off. 

In both the cases cited above the insurance applied only to the 
men engaged on the risky portion of the work. There was no per- 
centage of a large payroll simply to protect against accidents to a 
crew numbering less than 10 per cent of all the men employed. 

The insurance proposition, so far as the writer has had an 



28 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

opportunity to look into it, is cold blooded. Mr. Gillette says that 
on earthwork the men can be insured for less than 1 per cent of 
the payroll. He says nothing about the immense percentage asked 
*on certain other kinds of work. The writer has been on work where 
the lowest possible rate was 8 per cent of the payroll. Yet not one- 
fourth of the men were engaged on work more dangerous than the 
1 per cent jobs he mentions. The insurance simply means that in 
case of accident the company may be sued, but the insurance com- 
pany stands the cost, and if damages are assessed it pays the dam- 
ages. But if the accident can be clearly shown* to be due to willful 
negligence on the part of the company or its agents, the insurance 
company has recourse. Whatever the workmen or their families 
get must be fought for. It is not humane. 

The "Miscellaneous" item covers so many things it is important 
the contractor separates them so he will know what to count and 
also get an opportunity to lessen some items. If he loses money 
on a job he should be able to tell at a glance where the loss oc- 
curred, so it will not happen again. If the bidder can not do this 
also, then he should not be a bidder. 



CHAPTER V. 



WORKING METHODS. 

In all that follows the writer is discussing a sewer contract 
taken in a town or city some distance away from the "home" office. 
Much of the matter, however, is applicable to work done closer 
home and the hints as to system can be applied on all work whether 
sewer contracting, waterworks, streets, etc. Method is the thing, 
after all. 

Frank B. Gilbreth, of New York, publishes, in the advertising 
columns of technical papers, diagrams occasionally showing how he 
applies his system to certain jobs. The diagrams are instructive and 
every contractor should try and secure such information so that he 
can be prepared on short notice to take hold of a complicated piece 
of work. Mr. Gilbreth has brought to a high state of development 
the "Cost-plus-a-Fixed-Sum v method of doing work. As he does it, 
the employment of a contractor with a well trained staff and well 
developed systems for working is equivalent to the employment of 
a specialist to do well the work too many men do ill. 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING, 29 

Under the usual plan a man calls for bids and lets the contract 
to the lowest bidder. In many cases a conflict at once begins. The 
owner endeavors to get the most for his money. The contractor 
tries to do his work as poorly as he can and yet secure the ac- 
ceptance of the completed work. That there are many firms who 
do conscientious work is true, but it happens frequently, as we all 
know, that the above conditions exist. The interests of the owner 
and contractor are diametrically opposite. 

When the owner pays the actual cost with a fixed sum added 
thereto for superintendence, rent of machinery, etc., his interests are 
identical with those of the contractor. The sooner the contractor 
finishes his work the greater his earnings. The sooner the work 
is completed the sooner the owner begins his use of the structure 
or begins to derive benefit* from the completed work. The con- 
tractor has no more interest than the owner in lessening costs and 
he has absolutely no interest in "skinning" the work. He is in the 
employ of the owner as a skilled manager, with his own force of 
assistants, and not hampered in any way. The owner knows to a 
cent what the profit of the contractor is and knows that the con- 
tractor will do his best to complete the work quickly and at the 
lowest possible cost. 

In private work such contracts are becoming common. Some 
day an enlightened sense will permit public work to be so attended 
to. It will be then a case of the survival of the fittest in contract- 
ing. The writer carried one job through in the following manner: 
The contractor agreed to do the work for 15 per cent of the esti- 
mated cost. That is, the owner's engineer made a careful estimate 
and the contractor undertook to perform the work within that esti- 
mate and his compensation was 15 per cent of the actual cost. If 
the cost exceeded the engineer's estimate, the contractor's per- 
centage was reduced proportionately on the increased cost. As a 
result he got 15 per cent if the cost equaled the engineer's estimate 
and less than that if it over ran. As a balance, however, the owner 
agreed to give him 15 per cent on the actual cost and half the saving 
effected if he did the work for less than the estimated cost. For 
example, on a job estimated to cost (without contractor's profit) 
$100,000, the contractor would get $15,000. If, however, the work 
cost $110,000, he received only $13,500. If by careful management 
he brought the cost down to $90,000, he received fifteen per cent, or 



30 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

$13,500, together with $5,000, which was half the saving. In such 
a contract the owner and contractor share in savings made and their 
joint interests for the time being bring them close together and 
have a tendency to promote friendly relations. 

The foregoing matters are, however, more interesting than in- 
structive at the present stage of the game in contracting. 

In the piece of work under consideration, it is assumed that the 
contract is let and the contractor ready to start. There will be a 
yard required and an office, with, perhaps, a cement warehouse, a 
stable, a blacksmith and carpenter shop and a coal bin (if there is 
to be much machinery). The use of trench machines is so common 
today that the coal may be assumed as needed. There are several 
machines in the market, but it is not the purpose of the writer to 
refer to any particular make, although he has used such machines 
on many miles of trenches. 

The yard should be large and centrally located. As the work 
is generally to be paid by taxes levied on the adjacent property, care 
should be used in renting a lot. A contractor's lot is never sightly 
and should be placed on a side street and as far away from the best 
residences as possible. That is, it should be as centrally located as 
possible and yet not be an offense to the sensibilities of the people 
in the vicinity. Much bad feeling can be, and is often, engendered 
by a contractor renting a lot on the principal residence street or 
close to the residences of influential people. 

The office should be located so that every one going in and out 
of the yard can be seen from the window. All teams should pass 
the window and the drivers can leave their delivery tickets as they 
go by with supplies for yard or warehouse and receive them as they 
go out. | J * ! 

In this we are assuming that there is an office on the job, where 
it belongs. The company may have several jobs and an office in a 
distant city, but the main office has nothing to do with the daily 
work. The job is simply financed from the head office and daily 
reports are sent to it. If, however, the office from which the 
work is directed is not right on the job and the manager free from 
interference the concern will lose money. The head office can only 
recognize one man on the work if matters are to run smoothly and 
letters sent to other men should be sent in his care. If the letters 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 31 

contain instructions relating to their work a carbon copy should 
be sent to the man in charge. If any of the employes on the work 
send letters or reports direct to the head office without first showing 
them to the manager, the head office should return them to him for 
suggestions. After firing the employe, he can sit down and attend to 
the matter. 

Sometimes the system is so arranged that correspondence is 
had direct with the head office when the whole business is divided 
up into departments. In such a case the men file duplicates of all 
communications in the office and their communications and reports 
go first through the hands of the manager. All communications sent 
from the head office go to the manager and by him are distributed. 
He alone, however, is the man to hire and discharge men, as it is 
to him the company looks for results. He can not give the best 
results if compelled to work with men not of his own choosing. 

For the main supplies needed on the work purchases in quantity 
can be made by the head office. For smaller items and for things 
that must be purchased quickly it is best to purchase on the ground. 
It is a great convenience for the buying to be done from some 
central point, but occasionally a man on the ground can do very 
well with local merchants. It all helps with the people who pay 
if some money is spent at home for other things than wages. 

The sketch shows how one lot was arranged and the arrange- 
ment proved satisfactory. A larger lot would have been better but 
could not be had. 

The office was arranged with a front door at one corner and a 
door near the front at the other side. A railing was put across the 
office and a standing desk went almost across. This was found very 
convenient when paying off as the men came in one door, passed 
through the office and went out of the other door without going into 
the business part of the office to bother the men at the desks. A 
small space outside the desk discourages loafing. 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE OFFICE ON THE WORK. 

The office should be in charge of a competent bookkeeper and 
he should never leave it. The writer generally calls this man the 
office manager. He should keep an accurate account of everything 



32 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

the manager directs him to look after, check all bills and properly 
enter them before forwarding to the "home" office, keep the cash, 
figure the pay rolls, etc. He should also act as stock clerk. 

On a piece of work where pipes for gas and water must often 
be cut and where fittings and extra parts for machinery must be 
on hand, where oil and other supplies are needed it is important 
that the item of waste be kept down. In the back of the office 
should be shelves divided off into pigeon holes from six to twelve 
inches square. The shelves should be fully twelve inches deep. 
Of course these dimensions can be varied to suit the articles. 
The object is to have things where they can be gotten at easily. 
One keg of nails of each size can be kept there open for small 
calls. Kegs for larger calls can be kept in the cement shed. 

When any item is bought an account should be opened with 
it and an ordinary cheap day book can be used for entries. On 
the left hand page enter the date the material was received and 
the quantity, together with the name of the firm supplying it. 
On the right hand page enter orders received for the material 
and a balance can be struck as often as desired so there will be 
no danger of running short. 

The writer believes it should be easy for men in the field to 
get what they need. He gives each foreman a pad of order blanks 
and if anything is wanted the order is made out and sent to the 
office. The man getting the article receipts for it on the order 
blank, which is put on a hook on the manager's desk after it 
is entered in the material book. 

Sometimes the foreman forgets to send the order or some- 
thing is needed in a hurry and one of the men goes after it. 
If he can tell a straight story he is given the article, but the 
office manager fills out an order and makes him receipt it, and 
this likewise, after being entered, is put on the manager's hook. 
It can be seen that there is no trouble getting anything wanted 
and no red tape to interfere with foremen and employes' obtain- 
ing what they need. Nothing is given in any other way. If the 
helper comes to fill an oil can he receipts for it and the entry is 
made so account can be kept of stock. Shovels and tools also. If 
broken tools are thrown away they are thrown from the office, 
being brought there so the stock clerk can see they are worth- 
less and mark them off his books. 

All items entered on the right hand page of the Material Book 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 33 

are entered in a ledger and charged to the foreman of the gang re- 
ceiving them. Not that he has to pay for them, but to keep a full 
account of responsibility and to compare relative wastefulness of 
the men. Tools must, therefore, be accounted for either by being 
returned damaged to the office or by being returned in good con- 
dition. 

The manager each morning takes the orders from the hook, and 
when he visits each gang on his daily morning round ascertains the 
whereabouts of every shovel, pick, nail, bolt, screw, can of oil, etc., 
drawn the day before. That is where the red tape comes in. It is 
easy to get the things, but an accounting must be made. 

In the ledger the foreman of each gang is also charged with his 
payroll and wages. Against this is set off the work he performs dur- 
ing the week at the contract prices for it. The writer knows a man 
who went on a job and introduced such a system with the most 
astounding results. Waste was almost entirely stopped and bills for 
sundries were almost nothing. He was called stingy and two men 
quit. The others were well pleased, however. The output per man 
and the output per gang increased so wonderfully the head office 
could hardly believe it at first. 

In the office should be kept a small book, with pages cut 
alphabetically. This book should contain the names (and ad- 
dresses) of all firms with whom the contractor does business or 
expects to do business. It is a good plan to have another small 
book similarly indexed with headings on the pages of all the 
articles likely to be needed and put in the names of firms deal- 
ing in such articles. The addresses of these firms, of course, 
will be in the other book. 

With these two small books a man can decide in short 
order who to call up on any particular matter. If the name 
of a firm in a particular line is forgotten a reference to the 
book will refresh the memory. 

Letter files should be arranged by subjects and not by 
names. Ordinary filing cases can be purchased and the letters 
on the edges of the leaves can be covered with slips bearing 
the subject names for indexing communications. Vertical files 
are good and can be purchased at low cost of heavy millboard, 
knocked down for shipment. 

The following list of subjects has been used and found 



34 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

sufficient: Brick, broken stone, cement, coal, collections, com- 
plaints, contracts, cut stone, drain pipe, gas pipe, gravel, house 
connections, insurance, iron and steel, leases, legal, light, lime, 
machinery, pay rolls, sand, sewer pipe, subcontracts, water, 
water pipe. Such a list will use about two ordinary pasteboard 
filing cases, but it would be better to have a case made to hold 
four like drawers and use them all. Or one large vertical 
filing box will do. 

Each letter from, and the^ answer to, any person or firm 
should be filed by the subject in it. If it deals with several it 
might be well to head, a blank sheet for each of the other 
subjects and write on them references to the letter and where 
it can be found. Put these sheets under their appropriate heads. 

It is the custom of the writer to make a carbon copy of 
replies to letters. When the back of the letter allows, the 
carbon copy of the reply is placed on the back of the letter 
it is a reply to. If the letter has been so copied that the 
writing has soaked through, or it has printing on the back, 
then a separate carbon sheet is made and pinned to it. 

In the files under the subjects will be filed also any papers 
received that will help to a full understanding of the matters 
contained therein. 

With such files so arranged, and with the books containing 
names and addresses, it is not possible for papers to go astray. 
One caution is needed, however, in all work. In order that 
papers will not be put back in the wrong divisions it should be 
the duty of some one person to do all the filing. A wire 
basket should be attached to, the files and when any communica- 
tions are referred to they should be placed in the basket. If 
every man who takes a letter out replaces it there will be 
trouble some day. To help the filer the manager should write 
in a colored pencil at the top of each letter the subject under 
which it should be filed. 

On the wall of the office, close to the railing, so it can 
be reached readily, but also so the man who reaches can be 
observed by the office manager, should be a line of hooks. 
Each hook should have over it the name of a foreman, teamster, 
or any man who receives orders direct from the office. All 
instructions should be written . (any piece of paper will do) 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 35 

and hung on the hook before forgotten. The man himself, 
or the water boy, or some one instructed by the man, will clean 
off the hook each time he comes into the office and when 
the instructions are attended to the paper comes back with 
O. K. over his initials. 

The writer prefers a pad of paper with a carbon sheet 
and to have all orders written in duplicate. One copy goes on 
the hook, the other on the managers desk, on the hook men- 
tioned above in reference to orders for supplies. In this way 
the manager, on his daily rounds, can keep track of all orders 
and instructions given and know when they are attended to. 

The work of cleaning up is the bane of a managers exist- 
ence. The majority of men want to wait until a job is com- 
pleted before cleaning up. The result is a chorus of com- 
plaints, increasing daily in volume, from disgusted property 
owners, and the trail of the gang is marked by tools, chains, 
ropes, etc., left behind. The manager should make the rounds 
every day and mark on cards each thing he sees that needs 
attention. One card for each item and its location. Upon his 
return to the office the clerk should make a separate small 
sheet for each card and put it on the hook of the manager's 
desk. The cards he should put on the hook of the teamster, 
or man whose business it is to look after such things. Many 
jobs can use a "roustabout gang" and the foreman of this 
gang should get the cards. They should come back with his 
O. K. very quickly. Then the manager can go with the card 
and his carbon to the spot and if the matter has been attended 
to tear them up. If not attended to the O. K. should be 
investigated. 

The office man should be a competent book-keeper and 
a little more. He should have considerable intelligence when 
questioned about the work and be a good "jollier," to use a well 
understood word. Property owners that come in like the blus- 
tering lions of March must go away like lambs. The manager, 
and also the office manager, should be able to attend to this. 
It. is good to have complete maps and plans and be willing to 
show them and explain them. If questions are asked that are 
not too searching, a willingness to show the system used on the 
work is oftentimes illuminating. All men like to see work 



36 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

systematized and the most unsystematic like it most. If the 
visitor goes away with the impression that he has a crowd of 
"good fellows" to deal with, he loses no time acquainting his 
neighbors with the fact. An appearance of candor is a big asset. 

The manager should make a trip around the work the 
first thing in the morning before going to the office. He should 
have fairly regular hours at the office in the morning to look 
over his mail, reply to letters, give instructions, meet visitors 
the office manager can not handle, etc. 

Then he should go out on the work with his memorandums 
to interview the foremen. The rest of the day will be settled 
for him by circumstances. A last round should be made before 
quitting time and the last act of the day should be another 
visit to the office. The office manager should not leave until 
the manager comes in for the last talk. 

The office manager should not leave the office. There 
should be a man to get the time and assist him in figuring it. 
He can be called the timekeeper. The writer generally has him 
do more than collect the time. Assuming there will be enough 
men in the office to figure up the time, his duties should be 
pretty well limited on that point to simply getting it. He 
should measure up each day the work done by each gang. On 
a board in the office there should be tacked profiles of each 
street. That is, when work commences on a street the profile 
for that street should be placed on the board. Each day the 
timekeeper (or whoever is charged with measuring the work) 
should plot on the profile the work done on the street, a 
different color being used for each day, so they will be distinct. 

There should be blank sheets prepared so he can put on 
them the number of men in each gang, together with the 
amount of wages paid them, and the foreman's name, with his 
pay, and the amount of work done at contract prices by the 
gang. One sheet for each gang. These reports should be 
ready by nine o'clock in the morning, by which time the 
manager will likely be in to look over his mail, etc. A carbon 
copy should be made of the reports and given to the office 
manager. 

If daily reports are required at the head office, there will 
be proper blanks on which abstracts of the daily reports will 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 37 

be made, and these will be placed on the manager's desk, to 
be signed by him in the evening when he comes in for his 
final visit. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FIELD AND OFFICE METHODS. 

It is more than likely a material clerk will be needed whose 
duty it shall be to attend to the distribution of all materials 
required on the work, see that the count is right, sign receipts, 
look after the return and proper crediting of damaged mate- 
rial, make reports to the office manager, etc. 

If the contractor is intending to make house connections 
as well, a house connection solicitor will be required. The 
writer described in Engineering News two years ago a system 
he devised for keeping track of house connection records. 

We will assume that a plumbing inspection must be had 
before a permit will be granted. Then after an inspection is 
made and reported as O. K. the contractor will mail a blank 
contract to the owners, asking them to sign it at the prices 
mentioned therein and return it for the signature of the con- 
tractor. It is well to have them in original and duplicate so 
the owner can keep a copy. After the contract is received, duly 
signed, the work rs proceeded with. 

The first step toward organizing the department is to 
procure a set of plats of the district showing each lot, house 
number and name of owner of record. Place a number on each 
lot, beginning with No. 1. 

Have blanks prepared on medium heavy tough paper, 8^ 
by 11 inches in size, on loose sheets, to be placed in adjustable 
covers. Of these covers there should be three, entitled, re- 
spectively, Prospects, Progress, Completed. 

A blank will be filled out for each lot and a number given 
it to correspond with the number on the lot. The sheets will 
then be placed in Prospects book. When a contract is received 
the sheet is properly filled out to note that fact and removed 
to the Progress book. When the work is completed it is re- 



38 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING' 

moved to the Gompleted book. If an owner makes other ar- 
rangements, and the contractor does not secure that piece of 
work, the proper entries are made on the proper sheet and it 
is removed at once to the Completed book. Remember they 
are filed consecutively by the number of the lot they refer to. 
It is, therefore, an easy matter to refer to any sheet. 

All letters received referring to particular lots should 
receive the number of the lot and be filed in the covers with 
the record sheet. If the letters are on small sheets, or if any 
communication is on a postal card, paste them on a blank sheet 
of the proper size and file them in where they belong. 

The record sheet is arranged as follows: 



HOUSE DRAIN RECORDS. 



No 

Street and No 

Owner of record 

Address 

Description of property 



Plumbing inspection asked Report received. 

Defects reported are as . follows 



Reported O. K. on 

Contracts mailed Signed by us 

Amount of contract 

Estimate of material and work to be done .'.-.. 

Date of permit Number of permit. . 

Permit granted to 

Work reported completed . . Actual cost . 

Material used 

Bill mailed 



REMARKS. 



Date paid. 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 39 

Whatever other books may be kept will be such as the 
office manager will want. There should, of course, be a com- 
plete set of ordinary books kept in addition to the special books 
required. 

It is hard to devise a system of blanks for all work. Each 
job has peculiarities and oftentimes special blanks have to be 
used on different work. It is not advisable to go to too great 
expense for printing, as generally only a small number will 
be needed for each job. If too many are ordered it may be 
awkward working with blanks not exactly suitable. The writer 
prefers to have a hektograph of a mimeograph, or some of the 
many excellent duplicating devices in the market. On one 
piece of work he had a rubber type outfit with a press that 
would take care of a card five inches wide and seven inches 
long. It was very useful, and comparatively cheap. 

The daily trip over the work should never be neglected and 
it should be made twice each day if possible. The manager has 
more to do than to look personally after each item on the work, 
but he must keep in close touch with it and have his men under- 
stand this. 

It is a good plan to have large cloth-lined envelopes on the 
desk witlv the name of a foreman, teamster, etc., on each. After 
examining in the office all memoranda and data intended for each 
one put them in the proper envelopes and take the envelopes to the 
field. It is for this reason the writer prefers loose leaf memorandum 
books. . 

Making notes and memoranda on sheets and placing them 
in a marked envelope relieves the mind of the labor of trying 
to remember too many items and tends to keep matters straight. 

It is not expected the manager will have anything to do with 
the men in the way of giving orders. The foreman is there for 
that purpose. The writer has on several occasions refused flatly 
to discharge men when requested to do so by the engineer in charge. 
His reason was that the engineer tried to give ' orders and the 
men did not acknowledge his authority. 

The writer runs his job. It is the only way to get satisfaction. 
He gives the engineer to understand that all orders he wishes 
to give or suggestions he wants to make must be given directly 



40 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

to the manager. The foremen and the men are told that if they take 
any orders from the engineer they will be discharged. 

If the engineer is dissatisfied he can stop the work and send 
for the man in charge. This has happened twice to the writer and 
the results were satisfactory. The men, however, are given to 
understand that flippant remarks to the engineer, no matter how 
great the provocation, will be grounds for discharge. 

The foremen as trusted lieutenants are the men to whom the 
manager goes with his envelopes every day. It is too bad that he 
can not praise them. He will spoil them if he does. The contents 
of the envelope must be gone over thoroughly. If any man objects 
to criticism of his work and says he is doing better than "so and 
so," invite him to the office and show him the little ledger account 
kept of the work done by each gang and the cost of the work. 
Always be ready with documents. Have your case well prepared. 
Beware of the man who pats himself on the back when reproved. 

In these days of unions it is hard to get at the meaning of 
a day's work. Try to have as much piece work as possible. The 
less intelligent the men the more foremen and the higher the pay 
of the foremen. Foremen are the hardest things to get hold of on 
this green earth. Therefore it pays to cultivate the intelligence and 
ambition of the men. 

The writer has often marked out certain work for a gang to 
do and told them it was a day's work. The way it worked was 
pleasing. It was often noticed that some men quit work an hour 
or so ahead of others, for they had done their "stunt" and gained 
a little time for themselves. On one contract the different gangs 
commenced to drop off at 4 o'clock. There was no error made 
in the amount of work given them, but it was simply a case of hustle 
on the part of the men when they believed they gained. 

This was where the daily records came in handy. By means of 
them within a week it was possible to ascertain what the men 
were capable of doing and also to judge if they were doing their 
best. After an average was struck a stake could be measured off 
and set on the work. The men were told that when this stake 
was reached they could go home. In some cases it resulted in the 
men joining together and eliminating the shirkers and in one case 
the foreman was dispensed with. 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 41 

Whenever men cared to contract for certain parts of the 
work they were given an opportunity. The foreman saw that the 
work was done properly and assisted the inspector. 

Wherever a foreman is anxious to contract for any part of the 
work instead of working for wages it is policy to let him do it. 
The daily records are of value in such case to him as well as to 
the contractor. The foreman gets a more accurate idea of his 
work than he ever before had and soon becomes able to figure. 

The manager should really be paid a percentage on the profit 
he makes instead of being paid a salary. If he has an interest 
in the business he can not help taking more interest in his part 
of the work. 

The writer has found it an advantage on a piece of work widely 
scattered to install several magneto telephones on the job. The 
cost is small and the advantages are great. When the bell is rung 
on one it rings on all and the man who hears it ring will answer. 
If the office wishes to communicate with the field the message 
goes to all who listen and if the right man does not get it the nearest 
man sends for him or delivers the message. If the man in the field 
wants to communicate with the office no time is lost. 

On one piece of work the writer wished to install telephones 
and got estimates. The head of the f}rm thought the expense too ■ 
great and turned the idea down. Thereupon the time spent in 
going to and from the office on errands was made an item of daily 
account. When the job was completed this time was all figured 
up and it amounted to seven times the cost of the telephone sys- 
tem. On the next job we had it. 

When teams are hired a man's troubles begin. If it is easy for 
a team owner to get work for his horses or if the conditions 
are in the lightest degree unfavorable this work is expensive. In 
one town the writer paid $3.50 per day of ten hours for team 
and driver. He used them principally on backfilling and set a 
stake each day for them to get to. If they failed to reach it they 
went off the job. It was a medium-sized place and it was. easy 
at that time of the year to get teams. His next job was where his 
teams cost $5.00 for an eight-hour day and they were scarce. It was 
impossible to get those fellows to do two-thirds the work the 
cheaper teamsters did in the small place. 



42 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

The writer prefers to engage a careful stable man and hire good 
drivers and buy his horses. With a little practice it is not difficult 
to size up a horse. A wind-broken horse and an old horse are 
hard to dispose of. By standing squarely in front and looking at 
the nose the tell-tale fluttering indicates the wind trouble and such 
a horse should be rejected. He may give good service, but the 
contractor must figure on selling after the work is done. 

Seven years is the limit on age if a sale is to be made. It is 
little trouble to learn to approximate the age very closely by the 
teeth. There are other signs also which a skilled veterinarian 
will be able to tell a man. 

The writer has purchased horses himself and after several 
months of hard work sold them in better condition at a higher price. 
He had a good stableman and good teamsters who worked the 
horses hard, looked carefully after their feet and cleanliness and 
fed them high. They received more than one straw per day and 
showed it. 

If a horse is more than eight years old or if he is wind-broken, 
no matter what his age, it is almost impossible to make a sale when 
the job is completed. 

• While talking of the pay of the teamsters it is interesting to 
note that in the small town where teams were cheap the laborers 
received $1.50 per ten-hour day. In the big city the men in the 
trenches received $3.00 for a nine-hour day. The higher-priced 
men did more work at a less cost per yard. That means they did 
practically twice as much work in a day. There were men in the 
small place who did as much work as any man in the larger place, 
but the collective work averaged better with the higher wages. The 
total amount of work done was the criterion. 

The question of whether to own or rent machinery comes up 
to every contractor. He must decide for himself according to cir- 
cumstances. 

The rule is to buy and own the machinery and appliances likely 
to be always in use, especially if the territory is not very large. 
If the contractor works in an unlimited territory it is not always 
best to own much of a plant, for freight -rates eat up profits. 
Machinery is generally shipped as "second-hand contractors' machin- 
ery." When returned to the home place it can go as "contractors' 
machinery returned for repairs." 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 43 

The renting of machinery is a big item and the prices charged 
are high. The charge will run from about .003 per cent per day 
for a machine costing over $6,000 to .02 per cent per day for a 
machine costing less than five hundred dollars. The renter has 
to pay for all repairs and return the machine in as good condition 
as that in which it was received. 

The writer has often used second hand machinery. A man 
must have a very good knowledge of machinery in order to buy 
second hand machinery to advantage. He may be badly cheated, like 
buying horses. 

If the piece of work is such that the cost of machinery can 
be practically wiped off, then it pays to buy good, new machinery. 
If it is a short piece of work and the question of profit is a close 
one and the capital is limited it will pay to investigate the renting 
of machinery or the purchase of second hand machinery. 

A new machine is second hand when delivered on the job. even 
if not used. As soon as purchased it drops in salable value. The 
drop is from 20 per cent if clean and bright to 40 or 50 per cent if 
not clean and if showing signs of use, slight though they may be. 

Taking 50 per cent of the value of a new machine as the stand- 
ard second hand price a contractor often makes money by buying 
with judgment. The writer bought for $700 a $1,200 hoisting outfit. 
After six months' use and a careful overhauling and cleaning he 
sold it for $600. The man who purchased from him used it four 
months and sold it for $600. A new $1,100 outfit used five months 
sold for $650 at the end of that time. There seems to be pretty 
nearly an even price for certain classes of second hand machines 
that depends little upon their first cost. So a contractor often gets 
the use of a machine for the simple cost of operation, buying cheap 
and selling at about the same price. 

Like selling horses, however, it is a gamble. The writer likes 
to own the machinery used on the work if plants are not duplicated 
too greatly. He is not a wholesale advocate of renting, especially 
if the machinery is such as is in common use. In the market there 
are machines for special work that it is wisest to rent, for the 
manufacturer generally sends an operator and usually is responsible 
for proper working. 



44 THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 

Men often go wild on the machinery question. It is the reason 
for many big losses and ruined firms. After all the best of machines 
are simply tools, like picks and shovels, and require the direction 
of human beings. If not fit for the work the machinery will be 
idle much of the time and the loss is big. Machinery must be 
selected with care and used with judgment. If new and not well 
known it should be tried before purchase or before long contracts 
are entered into. 

After all is said the ideas of the writer on the business of con- 
tracting are simply this : 

Use judgment in getting the work. 

Be thoroughly posted on all questions likely to affect the cost 
of the work. 

Study men as well as materials. 

Know costs. 

Select the proper men to run the work. 

Trust no man too long away from you. Personal supervision 
is the only thing even if you never say a word on the job. 

Be seen on the work and let everybody who works for you 
understand that you know your business. 

Be careful in buying. 

Use care in keeping track of supplies. Know what you buy. 
See that you get it. 

Use care in furnishing materials and supplies. Follow the 
things up after they have been delivered. See they get to their 
proper destination. Find out if they have been used. 

Give your men a chance to go into partnership to some degree 
if it can be arranged. That is, do as much piece work as possible 
if no union rules prevent. The calculated profits may not be as 
large, but the profits will be more sure than under the wages system. 

Remember that in one thing the educated man will be more 
valuable than the uneducated as a foreman. He will be better in 
the preparing of reports. 

All writers on contracting work mention this. The writer has 
had men quit because expected to fill out papers, but it is often- 
times necessary. The reason is that today men are studying systems 
until the country has gone system mad. Reports are often com- 
plicated and are always vexatious. 



THE BUSINESS OF CONTRACTING. 45 

Reports should be plain. Complication is to be avoided. Avoid 
too many cross references for men in the field. Get only the matter 
absolutely necessary from the men. Have trained office men do 
the rest. 

The writer prefers Gillette's method for foremen of using 
punches as much as possible. He also has a man in the office whose 
business is to collect statistics each day. Such a man does not cost 
much and on a big job it pays. As a rough rule for a job where the 
pay roll amounts to more than one thousand dollars per week 
such a man can earn one hundred dollars per month. On a smaller 
job a younger man — preferably with some knowledge of engineering 
— can be had at from sixty to seventy-five dollars per month. 

The office on the job hires all the men. This is not left to the 
foremen. They, however, do all the discharging and the manager 
can not dispute this right of theirs. Never force men on unwilling 
foremen, but see that justice is done. Play no favorites. 

The writer uses many special forms for time keeping, etc., 
which he hopes to describe some day in another series of articles 
on the subject of "The Business of Contracting." 

.(The End.) 



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